When I first became a Doctor Who fan, there was a lot of conventional
fan wisdom that “everybody” knew. One of the most popular, and propagated in
things like Doctor Who - A Celebration
by Peter Haining (THE book for fans back in the 80’s) was that “The Gunfighters”
was the worst, the absolute nadir of Doctor
Who. Bad accents, bad acting, dumb script, whatever fault could be found
with this story it was there. Then a peculiar thing happened. People started to
watch the story, and instead of relying on a lovely hardbound book for its
decree as to what is good, they made their own opinions. I’m here to tell you
that Peter Haining, back in the day, was flat out wrong. “The Gunfighters” is a
fun piece, full of comedy, drama, and the best performance Jackie Lane gives as
Dodo *hands down*.
OK, it’s not perfect. There are
admittedly some pretty dodgy accents floating around in Tombstone. And there are
a LOT of characters to deal with, so some do get short changed in the script
department. But for every not-sounding-like-a-cowboy-at-all accent we get
Steven and Dodo in ridiculously costume-y western gear, in a visual joke that I’m
pretty sure Back to the Future 3 would steal a few years down the road. The OK
Corral and Tombstone itself are obviously being filmed in a studio, but the
Doctor calling Wyatt Earp “Mr. Werp” makes me laugh every single time. The
aliases the Doctor uses for the TARDIS crew are ridiculous, but somehow they
work, almost as well as the Doctor’s donning of a Stetson.
Ah, yes, the Doctor. If “The Celestial
Toymaker” was an attempt to see how little “Doctor” was needed in Doctor Who, “The Gunfighters” shows how
good William Hartnell still was in the title role. He is sharp, his comic
timing is spot on, and carries the show as its lead while still being generous
to his co-stars and allowing them to do really fine work. The idea that
Hartnell was ailing and needed to be removed from the series is an oft-repeated
story, but not the entire truth. Watching him perform in “The Gunfighters” is a
joy, and his performance is that of a man who is still on his game. He may have
started to become ill around this time, but it seems that the MS that would
eventually take his life became a convenient excuse for the production office
to use as to why their leading man was leaving.
Companion-wise, Steven and Dodo are
top-notch in this story. Yes, I just gave a thumbs-up to a Dodo performance. I’m
shocked as well. But let me start with Steven. Peter Purves is a great comic
actor, and I think Steven is probably one of the most underrated companions
ever. He’s witty, clever, brave, and can carry a tune with panache, even when
dressed like Tom Mix. Then there’s Dodo. Wow. I’ve not warmed to Dodo as a
character or Jackie Lane as an actress since she joined the show, but here, as “Miss
Dodo DuPont” she does some really fine work. Her brief use of an American
accent is better than some of the Clanton brothers, she FINALLY seems to have
some chemistry with Steven, and in the scene where she threatens to shoot Doc
Holliday, she’s just delightful. I’m not sure how the script managed to finally
get her right, but Dodo is really quite enjoyable here. Lane really gives it
her all and it shows. I only wish some of this character development had been
seen earlier.
The real elephant in the room when it
comes to “The Gunfighters” is THAT SONG. You know the one. It gets stuck in
your head for days, speaking from personal experience. I even toyed with the
idea of trying to write this entry in verse, and then realized how absolutely
insane that would be. But here’s the thing. “The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon”
isn’t really all that bad. Heresy, I know. Spread out over four weeks as it was
when originally aired, it would just be a clever little tribute to the Western
genre. It’s when watching all four episodes in a row that it becomes the
earworm that it is. I’m not putting it on my iPod anytime soon, but I can’t
help it. I sort of dig it.
I’m not sure why “The Gunfighters” got
all of the hate that it did for so many years. Sure, there are some weak spots,
but dear lord, if this rewatch has shown me anything, there are FAR worse
stories in Doctor Who history. There
are a lot of nice moments of levity here, as well as a fair amount of suspense.
When we as viewers know how the gunfight is going to play out (historical
inaccuracies aside), the suspense could have been hard to sustain, but it just
works. Characters, dialogue (“People keep giving me guns… I do wish they wouldn’t”),
and yes, the song add up to what some would call a “romp”. It’s hard for me to
do that, seeing as how it ends in a gunfight, but “The Gunfighters” is an
enjoyable story, full stop. Fan wisdom be damned.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Savages
"The
Gunfighters" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at
tardis.wikia.com
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